Ranked: Oil states lead nation in economic growth

HOUSTON — The energy industry was a major driver of economic growth in several of the nation’s fastest-growing states last year, including Texas and the Rocky Mountain region, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The national gross domestic product, a measure of economic activity, grew 1.8 percent in 2013. Meanwhile, several states with thriving oil and natural gas industries, including North Dakota and Texas, saw economic growth of more than 3.5 percent.

Still, the industry couldn’t save some states from lackluster economic results. In the heart of the Marcellus Shale — a major natural gas production area — Pennsylvania and New York recorded GDP growth of less than 1 percent. And Alaska — the only state to show a decline in gross domestic product last year, falling 2.5 percent — suffered from a decline in oil production on the North Slope, according to the report. Alaska’s oil production fell 2 percent in 2013.

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